Lane keeping system and lane centering system

ABSTRACT

A lane centering system for use in a vehicle driving in a lane on a road includes a lane delimiter detection device having a camera with a field of view that encompasses the road ahead of the vehicle. Based on processing of captured image data, a controller determines the positions of left and right lane delimiters on the road. The controller is operable to establish a target path for the vehicle that maintains the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle generally centered between the left lane delimiter and the right lane delimiter. The controller is automatically activated to control steering the vehicle along the target path when the speed of the vehicle is at or above a first speed level. When having activated control of steering, the controller automatically deactivates control of steering when the speed of the vehicle falls to at or below a second speed level.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/884,752, filed May 10, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,180,908,which is a 371 national phase application of PCT Application No.PCT/US2011/061124, filed Nov. 17, 2011, which claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 61/454,702, filedMar. 21, 2011, and Ser. No. 61/415,409, filed Nov. 19, 2010.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to lane keeping systems and lane centeringsystems for use in vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some vehicles today are provided with lane keeping systems which are inthe form of lane departure warning systems, which notify the driver ofthe vehicle in the event that the driver leaves his/her current lane.Such systems have several drawbacks. Many such systems notify the drivervia audible means, which also notifies any passengers in the vehicle ofthe apparent driver error. Some drivers may feel embarrassed by thesystem's warnings and may thus be inclined to disable the system ifpossible.

Another drawback relates to when such systems act to notify the driver.Typically notify the driver only when the driver has already left thelane that he/she is in. At that time the vehicle's angle relative to theroad may already be too large for the driver to have sufficient time tocorrect the vehicle's projected path to avoid veering off the road.

It would be advantageous to provide a lane keeping system that at leastpartially addresses at least one of the drawbacks described above.

Furthermore, it would be advantageous in some situations to provide avehicle with the capability to autonomously keep itself in a lane duringdriving.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the invention is directed to a lane keeping systemfor a vehicle. The lane keeping system sets a safe zone in which thedriver can drive the vehicle. If the system determines that the driveris at risk of leaving the safe zone, the system takes a correctiveaction, such as notifying the driver or applying a steering correctionto the vehicle. The system adjusts the width of the safe zone dependingon the driver's capability to stay within the safe zone.

In a particular embodiment of the first aspect, the lane keeping systemincludes a controller and a lane delimiter detection device. The lanedelimiter detection device is positioned to send information to thecontroller relating to the positions of a left lane delimiter on theroad on a left side of the vehicle and a right lane delimiter on a rightside of the vehicle. The controller is programmed or operable to:

a) establish a safe zone having a left safe zone delimiter based on thesensed positions of the left lane delimiters and a right safe zonedelimiter based on the sensed positions of the right lane delimiters,wherein the safe zone has a width between the left and right safe zonedelimiters,

b) take a corrective action if the controller determines that thevehicle is at risk of unintentionally leaving the safe zone, wherein thecorrective action is at least one action selected from the group ofactions consisting of: notifying the driver that the vehicle is at riskof leaving the safe zone; and applying a steering correction to thevehicle, and

c) adjust the positions of the left safe zone delimiter and the rightsafe zone delimiter so as to adjust the width of the safe zone if thevehicle remains within the safe zone for a selected period of time.

In a second aspect, the invention is directed to a lane keeping systemfor a vehicle, wherein the lane keeping system is configured to notifythe driver of the vehicle discretely if the system determines that thevehicle is at risk of unintentionally leaving the lane, so as not tonotify any passengers in the vehicle.

In a particular embodiment of the second aspect, the lane keeping systemincludes a controller, a lane delimiter detection device positioned tosend information to the controller relating to the positions of a leftlane delimiter on the road on a left side of the vehicle and a rightlane delimiter on a right side of the vehicle, and an output deviceconfigured to send haptic feedback only to the driver of the vehicle.The controller is programmed or operable to:

a) determine whether the vehicle is at risk of unintentionally leavingthe lane based on the information from the lane delimiter detectiondevice; and

b) notify the driver via the output device that the vehicle is at riskof leaving the lane based on the determination made in step a).

In a third aspect, the invention is directed to a lane keeping systemfor a vehicle, wherein the lane keeping system is configured to continueto check whether the vehicle is at risk of leaving the lane on one sideof the lane even if the driver of the vehicle has activated thevehicle's turn signal to indicate that the driver wishes to leave thelane on the other side of the lane.

In a particular embodiment of the third aspect, the lane keeping systemincludes a controller, a lane delimiter detection device positioned tosend information to the controller relating to the positions of a leftlane delimiter on the road on a left side of the vehicle and a rightlane delimiter on a right side of the vehicle, and an output deviceconfigured to send feedback to the driver of the vehicle. The controlleris programmed or operable to:

-   -   a) determine whether the vehicle is at risk of unintentionally        exiting the lane via a left side of the lane if the controller        determines that the driver of the vehicle intends to exit the        lane via a right side of the lane;    -   b) determine whether the vehicle is at risk of unintentionally        exiting the lane via a right side of the lane if the controller        determines that the driver of the vehicle intends to exit the        lane via a left side of the lane; and    -   c) notify the driver via the output device that the vehicle is        at risk of unintentionally exiting the lane based on the        determinations made in steps a) and b).

In a fourth aspect, the invention is directed to a lane centering systemfor use in a vehicle. The lane centering system is capable ofautonomously steering the vehicle to remain within a lane. In oneembodiment, the lane centering system includes a controller thatdetermines a target path for the vehicle depending on certainparameters. For example, the target path for the vehicle is based atleast in part on whether the controller has sufficient information todetermine the positions of both lane delimiters or whether thecontroller can only determine the position of one of the lanedelimiters. The target path may be selected based in part on whether thelane delimiters are parallel to the vehicle, or whether one or both ofthem are not parallel to the vehicle. In an embodiment, the controllermodels each of the lane delimiters in a simplified form. Thisfacilitates the determination of one of the target paths (the centerlineof the lane). The simplified form may be a 3^(rd) order polynomialequation.

In a particular embodiment of the fourth aspect, the lane centeringsystem includes a lane delimiter detection device positioned to sendinformation to the controller relating to the positions of a left lanedelimiter on the road on a left side of the vehicle and a right lanedelimiter on a right side of the vehicle, a steering assist deviceconfigured to apply steering corrections to the vehicle, and acontroller programmed or operable to establish a target path for thevehicle based on information from the lane delimiter detection device.The controller is operatively connected to the steering assist deviceand instructs the steering assist device to apply selected steeringcorrections to the vehicle to steer the vehicle towards the target path.The target path is selected based at least in part on whether thecontroller has sufficient information to determine the positions of bothlane delimiters or just one of the lane delimiters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example only withreference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a transparent plan view of a vehicle with a lane keepingsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 in a lane on aroad, illustrating a safe zone established by the lane keeping system,wherein the safe zone has a first width;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 3, wherein thesafe zone has a second, smaller width;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 2, wherein thevehicle is crossing from one lane into another;

FIG. 5a is a plan view of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 2, illustratingthe modeling of the lane delimiters;

FIG. 5b is a plan view of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 2, illustratingthe determination of the centerline of the lane and its offset from thevehicle's current position;

FIG. 5c is a plan view of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 2, illustratingthe determination of the offset of the centerline of the lane relativeto the vehicle's projected path based on the vehicle's steering angleand speed;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 2, illustratingthe determination of the vehicle's projected path;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the programming of the controllerinvolved in determining a target path for the vehicle and steering thevehicle towards a target path;

FIGS. 8a -8 f, 9 a-9 f and 10 a-10 f show test results for closed-loopcharacteristics for three variants of the control scheme illustrated inFIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a table illustrating decisions that are made by the lanecentering system based on information determined regarding the lanedelimiters;

FIGS. 12a-12i are plane views illustrating some of the situationsdescribed in the table in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating the relationships between variablesassociated with one of the parameters used to make the decisions shownin the table in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a graph illustrating the relationships between variablesassociated with another of the parameters used to make the decisionsshown in the table in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows a vehicle 10 that includes alane keeping system 11, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The vehicle 10 has a body 12, a lane delimiter detectiondevice 13 mounted to the vehicle body 12, a plurality of wheels 14 thatsupport the body 12, a brake system 15 including a brake 16 associatedwith each wheel 14, a steering system 18 associated with the frontwheels 14, and a controller 19 that controls the operation of lanekeeping system 11. The lane keeping system 11 assists the driver (shownat 20) in keeping the vehicle 10 in its lane on a road. The lane isidentified at 22 in FIG. 2 and the road is identified at 27.

The lane 22 is delimited by a first lane delimiter 24 a on a first sideof the vehicle 10 (e.g. the left side of the vehicle 10), and a secondlane delimiter 24 b on a second side of the vehicle 10 (e.g. the rightside of the vehicle 10). The lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b may be anysuitable types of delimiter, such as, for example, painted lines thatare solid, painted lines that are broken, Bott's dots, or any othersuitable type of delimiter. It will be understood that the lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b need not be the same. The lane 22 has a widthW_(L), which is the lateral distance between the first and second lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b.

The lane delimiter detection device 13 may be any suitable type ofdevice. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the device 13 is a camera 26that is positioned to have a forward field of view. The camera 26 maybe, for example, positioned behind the windshield of the vehicle 10.While a camera is described herein, it will be understood that any othersuitable lane delimiter detection device 13 may be used instead.

The camera 26 is connected to the controller 19 via any suitable means,such as an electrical conduit and sends images thereto which thecontroller 19 uses in order to determine the positions of the lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b.

The brake system 15 may be any suitable types of brake system such as ahydraulic brake system. The brake 16 at each wheel 14 may be a discbrake, as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the brake system 15 couldemploy disc brakes on the front wheels 14 and drum brakes (not shown) onthe rear wheels 14. In the embodiment shown, the brake system 15 furtherincludes a master cylinder 21 that is actuated via a brake pedal (notshown) in the cabin, and two slave cylinders 23 which apply hydraulicpressure in respective brake circuits shown at 25 a and 25 b.

The steering system 18 may be any suitable type of steering system, suchas, for example, a hydraulic power steering system. For example, thesteering system 18 in the example shown in FIG. 1 includes a steeringwheel 30 connected to a steering column 32. The steering column 32drives a valve element from a rotary valve 36 through which the steeringcolumn 32 passes. The steering column 32 ends at a pinion 38, whichengages a rack 40. The rotary valve 36 has two fluid lines that areconnected to a reservoir/pump 42, and two other fluid lines that areconnected to first and second cylinder ports 43 a and 43 b on a cylinder44. As is known in the art, turning the steering wheel 30 turns thesteering column 32, which in turn turns the valve element 34, which inturn controls the pressure of hydraulic oil at the two ports 43 a and 43b of the cylinder 44. A piston (not shown) in the cylinder 44, which isconnected to the rack 40 moves based on the pressure differentialbetween the two ports. The rack 40 connects to each of the front wheels14 via a tie rod and a steering arm (both of which are not shown so asnot to obscure other components in FIG. 1).

The functionality of the lane keeping system 11 is described as follows.The lane keeping system 11 may be activated any suitable way. Forexample, it may be activated by pushing a button on the dashboard of thevehicle, or for example, it may be activated automatically when thevehicle reaches a selected activation speed (e.g. 60 kph), therebyindicating to the controller 19 that the vehicle is on a road with lanes(e.g. a highway, a large city road). When the vehicle speed falls belowa selected deactivation speed (e.g. 55 kph), the lane keeping system 11may automatically be deactivated. By deactivating the system 11 at alower speed than the speed at which the system 11 is activated, thesystem is inhibited from rapidly turning on and off when the driver'sspeed hovers around the activation speed. It is alternatively, possible,however, for the system 11 to be programmed or operable to activate anddeactivate at the same speed (e.g. 60 kph).

Once the system 11 is activated, the controller 19 receives images fromthe camera 26, uses them to determine the positions of the lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b, and determines the lateral distance betweeneach of them and the vehicle 10. The controller 19 may use any suitabletype of algorithm to detect the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. Forexample, the controller 19 may scan selected portions of the images forelements in a certain range of colors that would be representative ofthe color of typical highway lane markings, for a row of reflectiveelements that shine in a certain range of colors that would berepresentative of the color of Bott's dots. The controller 19 may takeinto account ambient lighting conditions. For example it may adjust theranges of colors being searched for depending on the time of day.

The controller 19 also determines the initial positions of first andsecond safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b, which define an initial safezone 48 for the vehicle 10. The safe zone 48 is a zone in which thecontroller 19 considers the vehicle 10 to not be at risk ofunintentionally leaving the lane 22. The safe zone 48 has a width W_(S),which is the lateral distance between the first and second safe zonedelimiters 47 a and 47 b. The initial position of the first and secondsafe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b may be selected any suitable way. Forexample, they may be selected as simply being a selected distanceinboard from the first and second lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. Thispermits the width of the safe zone 48 to vary depending on the width ofthe lane 22. Alternatively, the positions of the safe zone delimiters 47a and 47 b may be selected by selecting an initial width W_(S) for thesafe zone 48 and centering the safe zone 48 between the lane delimiters24 a and 24 b. Some other algorithm may alternatively be used todetermine the initial positions for the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47b.

If the vehicle 10 leaves the safe zone 48 or is predicted by thecontroller 19 to be at risk of leaving the safe zone 48, the controller19 may determine that it was in error and that the vehicle 10 is atincreased risk of unintentionally leaving the lane 22, and activates anoutput device 50 to notify the driver 20. The output device 50 may beany suitable type of output device, such as, for example, a hapticoutput device, such as, for example, a vibratory motor that is connectedto the steering wheel 30. By vibrating the steering wheel 30, the driver20 is notified by the lane keeping system 11 of the apparent drivingerror, without notifying the passengers (shown at 52) in the vehicle 10.In this way, the vehicle driver 20 can correct the path of the vehicle10 without any of the passengers 52 being made aware that the driver 20needed notification by the system 11. This save the driver fromembarrassment, and additionally saves the passengers 52 from potentialstress or fear that the driver 20 is driving poorly. It will be notedthat the vibratory motor need not be directly connected to the steeringwheel 30 in order to cause the steering wheel 30 to vibrate. It ispossible, for example, for the vibratory motor to be connected to thesteering column 32 and to cause vibration of the steering column 32,which in turn would cause vibration of the steering wheel 30.Alternatively, a vibratory motor may be positioned elsewhere to notifythe driver 20 discretely to adjust the path of the vehicle 20. Forexample, the vibratory motor may be positioned in the driver's seat (notshown). Notwithstanding the advantages provided by an output device 50that notifies the driver 20 discretely, it is nonetheless within thescope of the invention to provide an output device 50 that provides anoutput reaches the driver 20 and the passengers 52. An example of suchan output device 50 would be a speaker that emits audible chimes,messages, or other warning sounds.

If the vehicle 10 leaves the safe zone 48, the controller 19 mayactivate an optional steering assist device 54 that applies steeringcorrections to the vehicle 10 to urge the vehicle 10 back into the safezone 48. The steering assist device 54 may have any suitable structure.For example the steering assist device 54 may include an electric motor56 with a steering assist pinion 58 on its output shaft. The steeringassist pinion 58 engages the main pinion 38.

When the controller 19 actuates the steering assist motor 56, thesteering assist motor 56 urges the steering assist pinion 58 to drivethe main pinion 38 with a selected steering correction torque in aselected rotational direction. The driver 20 feels the steeringcorrection torque through the steering column 32. If the driver 20 infact does wish to leave the lane 22, he/she may apply a torque (whichmay be referred to as a driver applied torque) on the steering wheelthat overcomes the steering correction torque so that the vehicle 10travels along whatever path they choose.

The steering assist device 54 could alternatively include something elseinstead of a steering assist motor 56. For example, the steering assistdevice 54 could control the hydraulic pressure to the cylinder ports 43a and 43 b so as to urge the rack 40 in a selected directionhydraulically. By controlling the hydraulic pressure a selected torquewould be applied to the steering column 32, which again could beovercome by the driver 20 through the steering wheel 30 if desired.

Regardless of the means used by the system 11 to control the steeringsystem 18, the system is preferably configured so that the driver 20 canovercome the steering correction by applying at least a selected minimumtorque on the steering wheel 30. The selected torque may be any suitabletorque, such as, for example, 3 nm. The selected torque may varydepending on the particular situation. For example, the selected torquemay be 3 nm on a straight road, but on a sufficiently sharp curve thedriver 20 may need to apply 3 nm of torque just to keep the vehicle 10in its lane, so a greater torque could be used as the selected torquethat would signify that the driver 20 intends to change lanes 22 but hasnot activated the vehicle's turn signal. In an exemplary embodiment, thecontroller 19 may be programmed to determine from the images from thecamera 16 whether the road has a curvature that is greater than somethreshold curvature (e.g. about 0.0002 radians/m), and if it determinedthat the curvature was at least that great, then the controller 19 woulduse a second, larger selected torque (e.g. 5 nm) as the minimum input bythe driver 20 before the controller 19 concludes that the driver 20 isintentionally steering the vehicle 10 to leave the lane 22. Insituations wherein the driver does apply sufficient torque to overcomethe system 11, the controller 19 may disable the system 11 temporarily(e.g. 10 seconds) so as to permit the driver 20 to complete the steeringmaneuver (e.g. a lane change) without interference from the system 11.

As yet another alternative, the steering assist device 54 could be adevice that applies a selected amount of brake force to the brake 15 atthe front wheel 14 on one side of the vehicle 10, so as to steer thevehicle 10 in a selected direction.

In yet another alternative embodiment for use in vehicles such aselectrically powered vehicles that have a first motor powering at leastone of the driver's side wheels and a second motor powering at least oneof the passenger's side wheels, the steering assist device 54 could be adevice that causes acceleration on one of the motors and deceleration onthe other of the motors.

Some of the programming of the controller 19 in relation to lane keepingis described below. As noted above, the controller 19 may be programmedto select a safe zone 48 that is a selected distance inboard from theleft and right lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. This has an advantage overa system that selects a particular width for a safe zone and thencenters the safe zone within the detected lane. In such a system it isat least theoretically possible for the system to become confused if,during use, it loses sight of one of the lane delimiters. It is possiblethat the system, in hunting for the missing lane delimiter, couldinadvertently interpret a marking on the road outside the lane as beinga lane delimiter. Under such a circumstance, the system might thenre-center the safe zone within what it believes to be the newlyestablished lane. Thus it is possible for the safe zone to suddenlyshift over by several feet. As a result, the system could attempt tosteer the vehicle towards the new safe zone, which could be undesirableif not disastrous. Instead, by programming the controller 19 to set thesafe zone 48 as being a selected distance inboard from the lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b, it is less likely for such a scenario tooccur.

In order for the controller 19 to determine whether the vehicle 10 is atrisk of unintentionally leaving the lane 22, the controller 19 uses theimages from the camera 26 to determine the positions of the lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b a selected distance ahead of the vehicle 10,such as, for example, 20 m ahead of the vehicle 10, up to about 100 mahead of the vehicle depending on such factors as visibility, traffic,weather and time of day. The controller 19 determines the positions ofthe safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b a selected distance ahead of thevehicle 10 based on the positions of the lane delimiters 24 aand 24 b,and determines the vehicle's projected path based on a steering sensor(not shown) and optionally based on other parameters also. Inparticular, the controller 19 determines the projected path of one ormore selected control points on the vehicle 10. In the exemplaryembodiment shown in FIG. 1, the controller 19 selects one control pointshown at 60, which is along the longitudinal centerline CL of thevehicle. The control point 60 may be, for example, the position at whichthe camera 16 is mounted in the vehicle (more particularly the lens ofthe camera 16). The vehicle 10 then determines if the vehicle 10 isprojected to leave the lane 22, by determining if the projected path ofthe control point 60 leaves the safe zone 48. If the controller 19determines that the projected path of the control point 60 will take thecontrol point 60 outside the safe zone 48, and if the controller 19 hasno indication that the driver 20 is exiting the lane 22 intentionally(e.g. by determining if the vehicle's turn signal is on), then thecontroller 19 may determine that the vehicle 10 is at risk ofunintentionally leaving the lane 22. Upon reaching that determination,the controller 19 can take an action to correct the problem (e.g. bywarning the driver, or for example, by automatically steering thevehicle 10 to bring the projected path of the control point 60 towardsthe center of the safe zone 48). Such actions (e.g. warning the driver20, or applying a steering correction to the vehicle 10) may be referredto as corrective actions taken by the controller 19.

If the controller 19 determines that the vehicle's turn signal is on,the controller 19 may disable the lane keeping system 11 temporarily insuch a way as to permit the driver 20 to complete the lane changewithout interference. In an exemplary embodiment, the controller 19re-enables the system 11 ten seconds after the turn signal is shut off.The turn signal is shown in FIG. 1 at 61.

Optionally, if the turn signal 61 is activated, the controller 19 may beprogrammed to disable the activation of the system 11 on one side only(the side indicated by the turn signal activation). Thus the system 11may continue to operate with the safe zone delimiter 47 a or 47 b as thecase may be, on the other side of the lane 22. For example, if thedriver 20 activates the turn signal 61 indicating that he/she is goingto change to the next lane over to the left of the vehicle 10, then thecontroller 19 could disable the left safe zone delimiter 47 b, whilecontinuing to monitor whether the vehicle 10 is at risk ofunintentionally leaving the right side of the lane 22 (i.e. bycontinuing to monitor the projected path of the vehicle 10 relative tothe right safe zone delimiter 47 a). If the controller 19 determinesthat the vehicle 10 is at risk of unintentionally leaving the right sideof the lane 22, the controller 19 may take corrective action asdescribed above (e.g. by warning the driver, or by applying a steeringcorrection to the vehicle 10).

It will be noted that, as the vehicle 10 crosses over the lane delimiter24 a in the above example (shown in FIG. 4), the controller 19 will, atsome point, detect the lane delimiter 24 a as the right lane delimitersince at some point it will no longer be on the left side of the vehicle10. Since the controller 19 is still monitoring the vehicle's distancefrom the right safe zone delimiter, there is at least a theoreticalpossibility that the controller 19 could conclude that corrective actionis suitable could proceed to notify the driver 20 or attempt to steerthe vehicle 10 more aggressively into the left lane 22. To prevent this,when the controller 19 detects that the vehicle 10 is crossing the lanedelimiter 24 a, it may be programmed to disable the system's monitoringof the right safe zone delimiter temporarily for a selected period oftime (e.g. 3 seconds) to permit the driver 20 to have time to completethe lane change. After the 3 second period, the controller 19 mayreactivate the system 11. It will be understood that the controller 19would also be programmed to disable the system's monitoring of the leftsafe zone delimiter temporarily when crossing over the right lanedelimiter as part of an intentional lane change (e.g. wherein the driver20 has put on the turn signal 61 to indicate a lane change to theright).

Referring to FIG. 2, the initial positions of the safe zone delimiters47 a and 47 b may be selected to be any suitable positions. For example,they may be selected to be one half of the vehicle's width inboard fromthe left and right lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. If the control point60 is on the centerline CL of the vehicle 10, the safe zone 48 is sizedto permit the lateral edges of the vehicle 10 (shown at 62 a and 62 b)to be right at the lane delimiters 24 a or 24 b before the controller 19determines that the control point 60 leaves the safe zone 48.

If, during driving, the controller 19 has not had to take any correctiveaction for a selected period of time, the controller 19 could reduce thewidth of the safe zone 48 by increasing the distances of the safe zonedelimiters 47 a and 47 b inboard from their respective lane delimiters24 a and 24 b. As a result, the controller 19 would take correctiveaction (e.g. warn the driver, or automatically steer the vehicle) whenthe vehicle is farther away from either lane delimiter 24 a or 24 b thanit would have based on the initial positions for the safe zonedelimiters 47 a and 47 b. As an example, the initial positions for thesafe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b may be selected to be, as notedabove, one half of the vehicle's width from the lane delimiters 24 a and24 b. Thus, for a vehicle that is 72 inches wide for example, theinitial positions of the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b may be 36inches inboard from each of the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. Aftersome period of driving, if the driver 20 has not caused the controller19 to take corrective action, the controller 19 may adjust the positionsof the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b to be further inboard. Forexample, the controller 19 may move the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47b inboard by 2 mm for each second that the controller 19 has not neededto take corrective action (i.e. for each second that the controller 19has not determined that the vehicle 10 was at risk of leaving the lane22). The controller 19 may continue adjusting the safe zone delimiters47 a and 47 b progressively inboard until it reaches maximum inboardpositions for them. The maximum inboard positions may be selected basedon any suitable criteria, such as the width of the vehicle 10, the widthof the lane 22 or some determined minimum acceptable width for the safezone 48. In an exemplary embodiment, the maximum inboard positions ofthe safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b may be selected to correspondwith the wheels 14 of the vehicle 10 being 75 cm inboard from the lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b, or may correspond to providing a safe zone 48having a selected alternative width, (e.g. 20 cm), whichever is smaller.In other words, for a lane 22 that is 350 cm wide and a vehicle that is170 cm wide, if the maximum inboard positions of the safe zonedelimiters 47 a and 47 b is taken to put the wheels 75 cm inboard fromthe lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b, that would correspond to a firstprospective safe zone width of 30 cm. Since 20 cm is smaller than 30 cm,the controller 19 will permit the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b tomove 80 cm inboard from each of the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b sothat the safe zone width reaches a minimum width of 20 cm. For a lane 22that is 330 cm wide and a vehicle that is 170 cm wide, if the maximuminboard positions of the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b is taken toput the wheels 75 cm inboard from the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b,that would correspond to safe zone with of 10 cm. Since 10 cm is smallerthan 20 cm, the controller 19 will permit the safe zone delimiters 47 aand 47 b to move 75 cm inboard from each of the lane delimiters 24 a and24 b so that the safe zone width reaches a minimum width of 10 cm. Thecontroller 20 will, of course, not permit the safe zone width to besmaller than zero. In other words, the controller 19 verifies whetherthe first prospective safe zone width (which is based on a selectedoffset inboard from the left and right lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b)represents a safe zone that would permit some lateral movement of thevehicle 10 in the lane 22. If the first prospective safe zone widthwould not permit some lateral movement of the vehicle 10, then thecontroller 19 would select the alternative width value as the minimumsafe zone width.

When widening the safe zone 48, the controller 19 may be programmed topermit the safe zone delimiters to reach a maximum outboard positionthat is 30 cm past (i.e. outboard from) the lane delimiters 24 a and 24b.

If at any time the controller 19 determines that the vehicle 10 is atrisk of unintentionally leaving the lane 22 and takes corrective action,the controller 19 may adjust the positions of the safe zone delimiters47 a and 47 b outward if they are not already at their maximum outboardpositions. For example, the controller 19 may adjust the safe zonedelimiters 47 a and 47 b outwards by some amount each time it isrequired to take corrective action. The controller 19 may be programmedto adjust the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b outwards faster than itadjusts them inwards. For example, if the driver 20 stays within thesafe zone 48 and does not cause the controller 19 to take correctiveaction, the controller 19 may adjust the safe zone delimiters 47 a and47 b inwardly at a rate that would bring them from their maximumoutboard positions to their maximum inboard positions in a selectedperiod of time, such as 5 minutes. By contrast, if the driver 20 isrepeatedly not staying within the safe zone 48 and is repeatedly causingthe controller 19 to take corrective action, then the controller 19 mayadjust the safe zone delimiters 47 a and 47 b outwardly at a rate thatwould bring them from their maximum inboard positions to their maximumoutboard positions in a selected period of time, such as 2 minutes.

By adjusting the safe zone 48 inwardly and outwardly based on driverperformance at staying within the safe zone 48, the controller 19rewards those who stay within the safe zone 48 without relying oncorrective action by the controller 19 with increased safety by way ofhaving a tighter safe zone 48 so that the corrective action is carriedout sooner to inhibit the vehicle sooner from leaving the lane 22, asshown in FIG. 3. By contrast, those who rely more heavily on correctiveaction by the system 12 to keep them in the safe zone 48 wind up havinga safe zone 48 that is relatively wider, which means that the driver 20is warned when the vehicle 10 is closer to actually leaving the lane 22,as shown in FIG. 2. By providing the controller 19 with the capabilityof taking corrective action sooner (as shown in FIG. 3) the driver 20 isprovided with earlier warning of the potential of leaving the lane 22,which gives the driver 20 more time to correct the path of the vehicle10 (and gives the controller 19 more time to correct the path of thevehicle 10 in embodiments wherein the controller 19 has thatcapability). Additionally, by taking corrective action sooner (e.g.warning the driver 20 sooner or by autonomously carrying out a steeringcorrection on the vehicle 10 sooner), a smaller steering correction isrequired to keep the vehicle 10 within the lane 22. A smaller steeringcorrection is preferable in terms of passenger safety than a largersteering correction.

In embodiments wherein the controller 19 is programmed to carry outsteering corrections on the vehicle 10, the driver 20 may be tempted totake their hands off the steering wheel and let the vehicle 10 steeritself. In order to prevent this, the controller 19 may optionally beprogrammed to detect if the driver 20 has let go of the steering wheel30. If it does detect this, the controller 19 disables the lane keepingsystem 11 temporarily for some period of time (e.g. 10 seconds) andnotifies the driver 20 that the system 11 has been disabled. When thedriver's hands are on the steering wheel 30 the driver 20 applies asmall but measurable torque on the steering wheel 30 with someregularity as the driver 20 makes small steering corrections whiledriving. The lane keeping system 11 may include a torque sensor on thesteering column 32 to detect this torque. The controller 19 receivessignals from the torque sensor, which permit the controller 19 to detectif the driver 20 has let go of the steering wheel 30. Specifically, ifthe torque applied to the steering wheel is above some threshold torque,such as for example, 0.3 nm, the controller 19 assumes that the torquewas applied by the driver 20 and that the driver 20 is actively involvedin steering the vehicle 10. The controller 19 starts a time counter todetermine the amount of time elapsed after receiving a signal indicatinga torque applied by the driver 20. If the elapsed time after the lastindication of a driver applied torque exceeds some threshold value (e.g.8 seconds), then the controller 19 warns the driver 20 and disables thelane keeping system 11 temporarily. If the driver 20 applies a torque onthe steering wheel 30 before the threshold amount of time elapses thenthe controller 19 does not disable the system 11 and resets the timecounter to begin counting again.

Aside from disabling the system 11 during activation of the turn signal61, and when the torque applied by the driver 20 on the steering wheel30 exceeds a selected value, the controller 19 may be programmed todisable the system 11 under other conditions also. For example, thecontroller 19 may be programmed to disable the system 11 when thecontroller 19 detects that the driver 20 has applied the brakes 16 (e.g.by detecting a signal from a brake pedal sensor shown at 64 on the brakepedal, shown at 66, or, for example, by receiving a signal from acollision mitigation system that a braking event is taking place).Additionally, if the vehicle 10 is equipped with an adaptive cruisecontrol system or the like, the controller 19 may disable the system 11if it detects that a forward collision warning signal has beentriggered. In either of these cases (i.e. detection of braking by thedriver 20 or triggering of a collision warning), the controller 19permits the driver 20 to maneuver the vehicle 10 as necessary to avoid acollision without interference from the lane keeping system 11.

In situations where the controller 19 cannot detect one of the lanedelimiters 24 a or 24 b for more than a selected period of time (e.g. 1second), the controller 19 may be programmed to gradually reduce theamount of assistance (i.e. corrective action) it provides to the driver20. In a situation where the controller 19 does not detect a lanedelimiter 24 a or 24 b for more than a second selected period of time(e.g. 3 seconds), the amount of assistance provided by the lane keepingsystem 11 may reduce to zero (i.e. no assistance). A gradual reductionin the amount of assistance may be achieved by gradually revising thepositions of the associated safe zone delimiter 47 a or 47 b outwards bysome selected amount. When the controller 19 detects the missing lanedelimiter 24 a or 24 b again it can revise the position of theassociated safe zone delimiter 47 a or 47 b back to its position priorto when the lane delimiter 24 a or 24 b stopped being detected. Thecontroller 19 may treat each of the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 bindependently with respect to this detection and reduction inassistance.

In situations where the vehicle 10 is driving past an on-ramp or anoff-ramp, one of the lane delimiters 24 a or 24 b may end temporarily.In such situations the lane delimiter 24 a or 24 b may reappear afterless than one second (depending on driving speed) and is expected to, inmany situations, reappear after less than 3 seconds, so that the system11 remains operational at least to some extant throughout the periodduring which the vehicle 10 is passing the on-ramp or off-ramp.

Reference is made to FIG. 1. Instead of, or in addition to, the lanekeeping system 11, the vehicle 10 may include a lane centering system68. The lane centering system 68 is used to autonomously steer thevehicle and keep the vehicle within its lane 22 (FIG. 2). The lanecentering system 68 may be considered to be an advanced lane keepingsystem. The lane centering system 68 may include many of the samecomponents as the lane keeping system 11, including the lane delimiterdetection device 13, which may be the camera 26, the controller 19 andthe steering assist device 54. For use in the lane centering system 68,the controller 19 is programmed to detect the left and right lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b using images from the camera 26, in the samefashion as described above for the lane keeping system 11. Thecontroller 19 then selects a target path shown at 69 (FIG. 5b ) in thelane 22 based on the information it has gleaned regarding the left andright lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. In situations where the left andright lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b are detectable and meet certainother criteria described further below, the target path 69 selected bythe controller 19 corresponds generally to the theoretical centerlineshown at 70 of the lane 22.

The controller 19 may be programmed in any suitable way to determine theposition of the centerline 70 for the lane 22. In an exemplaryembodiment, using the images from the camera 26, the controller 19 maymodel the left and right lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b in the form of 3^(rd) order polynomial equations. As shown in FIG. 5 a, an X axis and aY axis are positioned with the control point 60 on the vehicle 10 at theorigin. The left lane delimiter 24 a may be stored in the memory of thecontroller 19 as an equation in the form ofY_(L)=D_(L)X³+A_(L)X²+B_(L)X+C_(l), where D_(L), A_(L), B_(L) and C_(L)are selected by the controller 19 in any suitable way, so as to form acurve that, when adjusted for the perspective of the camera 26, closelymatches the left lane delimiter 24 a that appears in the images sentfrom the camera 26 to the controller 19. The right lane delimiter 24 bmay be stored in the memory of the controller 19 as an equation in theform of Y_(R)=D_(R)X³+A_(R)X²+B_(R)X+C_(R), where D_(R), A_(R), B_(R)and C_(R) are selected by the controller 19 in any suitable way, so asto form a curve that, when adjusted for the perspective of the camera26, closely matches the right lane delimiter 24 b that appears in theimages sent from the camera 26 to the controller 19. The position of thecenterline 70 can be determined as the average of the two polynomialequations. The position of the centerline is thus determined by thepolynomial Y_(C)=D_(C)X³+A_(C)X²+B_(C)X+C_(C) whereD_(C)=0.5(D_(L)+D_(R)), where A_(C)=0.5(A_(L)+A_(R)), whereB_(C)=0.5(B_(L)+B_(R)), and where C_(C)=0.5(C_(L)+C_(R)).

Reference is made to FIG. 5 b. After determining the position of thecenterline 70, the controller 19 calculates the lateral offset Y_(P1)between the vehicle's current position and a point on the centerline 70of the lane 22 that is some distance X₁ forward of the vehicle 10 alongthe X axis, using the formula Y_(P1)=D_(P)X₁ ³+A_(P)X₁ ²+B_(P)X₁+C_(P).The distance X₁ may be determined based on the vehicle's current forwardspeed V_(F) and a selected period of time T₁ (e.g. 0.6 to 1.2 seconds)that the controller 19 is programmed to ‘look ahead’ so as to safelyguide the vehicle 10. In addition, in some embodiments, the controller19 may also calculate the lateral offset Y_(P2) between the vehicle'scurrent position and a point on the centerline 70 of the lane 22 that issome second selected distance X₂ forward of the vehicle 10 along the Xaxis, using the formula Y_(P2)=D_(P)X₂ ³+A_(P)X₂ ²+B_(P)X₂+C_(P). Thissecond distance X₂ represents a second selected period of time T₂ (e.g.0.3 to 0.6 seconds) that the controller 19 may also be programmed to‘look ahead’ so as to safely guide the vehicle. The lateral offsetsY_(P1) and Y_(P2) may be referred to as target path lateral offsetsbecause they represent the offsets between the vehicle's currentposition and points on the target path 69 ahead of the vehicle 10. Wherethe target path 69 is the centerline 70 of the lane 20, the lateraloffsets Y_(P1) and Y_(P2) may also be referred to as centerline lateraloffsets.

Reference is made to FIG. 5 c. The controller 19 may further beprogrammed to determine the anticipated lateral offset of the vehicle 10which is referred to as Y_(A1) at the selected distance X₁ based on thevehicle's current yaw rate, V_(S). The vehicle's current angularorientation is represented by its yaw rate, V_(S). The anticipatedlateral offset Y_(A1)=X₁V_(S)T₁. The anticipated lateral offset of thevehicle 10 at the second selected distance X₂ is Y_(A2)=X₂V_(S)T₂.

Once the target path lateral offsets Y_(P1) and Y_(P2) and theanticipated lateral offsets Y_(A1) and Y_(A2) are determined, they canbe compared to each other so that the controller 19 can determine anappropriate steering input to apply into the steering assist device 54.It is optionally possible for the controller to not determine Y_(P2) andY_(A2) and thus to work only with the first offsets Y_(P1) and Y_(A1) todetermine an appropriate steering input.

To determine a suitable steering torque T_(C) to apply to the steeringsystem, the relationship between accelerator position and forward speedV_(F) is modeled, and the relationship between steering torque T_(C) andthe resulting yaw rate V_(S) is modeled. The modeling may take placeprior to programming the controller 19. The models may be used togenerate a look up table that the controller 19 uses when determining asteering torque T_(C) to apply to the vehicle 10.

The models used may differ for different vehicles. An exemplary model isdescribed below with reference to FIG. 6, based on the vehicle being setup with Ackermann geometry. The vehicle 10 is shown in FIG. 6. U_(F) isthe input from the accelerator pedal. V_(F) is the forward velocity ofthe vehicle 10 in whatever direction it is pointing (which is notnecessarily the direction in which the wheels 20 are pointed). Atransfer function is applied to U_(F) to derive V_(F). The transferfunction is: K_(V)/(T_(V)S+1), where S is a Laplace transform and K_(V)and T_(V) are parameters of the transfer function.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, when the vehicle 10 is turning, theinside front wheel 14 is turned at some angle, shown at A, which isdifferent than the angle of the outside front wheel 14. The wheelbase ofthe vehicle 10 is L, and the radius from the center C of the turn to theinside front wheel 14 is R. As an approximation, the distance from thecenter C to the inside rear wheel is also approximately equal to R.Thus, TAN(A) is approximately equal to L/R. V_(S)=V_(F)/R which isapproximately equal to V_(F) TAN(A)/L.

T_(C) is the steering torque requested. From a given steering torqueT_(C), a transfer function is applied to derive A. The transfer functionis: K_(S)/(S(T_(S)S+1)), where K_(S) and T_(S) are parameters of thetransfer function. As shown above, for a given angle A, V_(S) isapproximately equal to V_(F) TAN(A)/L. Using these relationships, asteering torque T_(C) can be selected to be applied based on thedifference between the anticipated lateral offset Y_(A1) of the vehicle10 as compared to the target path lateral offset Y_(P1).

The controller 19 may use a closed loop control system shown at 82 inFIG. 7 to refine the selected steering torque T_(C). The controller 19is programmed with a target path offset module 83 (which may be referredto as a centerline offset module 83 when the target path 69 is thecenterline 70), a compensator module 84, a steer motor module 86, a yawrate determination module 88, and an anticipated offset module 92. Thetarget path offset module 83 is used to determine the target path offsetY_(P1). In this example where the target path 69 is the centerline 70,the target path offset Y_(P1) is calculated as described above. Thecontrol system 82 determines an anticipated lateral offset Y_(A1) asdescribed above. A difference between the two, (which is represented bythe letter e in FIG. 7), is used as the input to the compensator module84 where a transfer function is applied to the difference e to determinea value for T_(C). The transfer function applied is that the input ismultiplied by k_(A)(S+z_(A))/(S+p_(A)), where k_(A), z_(A) and p_(A) arethe gain, zero and pole for the function. These values may be selectedby any suitable means.

The control system 82 then proceeds to the steer motor module 86 wherethe steering torque T_(C) is applied to the steering system 18 and thewheel angle A results. The wheel angle A is not measured, however thevehicle 10 includes a means for measuring the yaw rate V_(S) thatresults from the steering torque T_(C). Thus at module 88, the yaw rateV_(S) is measured. The measured V_(S) can be used as input to anoptional yaw module 90 where a transfer function is applied to V_(S) todetermine a yaw for the vehicle 10, the value of which may be used byother controllers for other purposes in the vehicle 10. The controlsystem 82 then proceeds to the anticipated offset module 92 which isused to determine the new anticipated offset Y_(A1) of the vehicle 10based on the new yaw rate V_(S) that was determined. As noted in FIG. 7,this module 92 uses the forward speed V_(F) of the vehicle 10 as one ofits inputs, which is used to determine the distance X₁. The anticipatedoffset is determined by applying the formula Y_(A1)=X₁V_(S)T₁. Thecontrol system 82 also recalculates the target path offset in module 83,and then again determines the difference between the anticipated offsetY_(A1) and the target path offset Y_(P1) to generate the input e to thecompensator module 84 again in order to refine the steering torque T_(C)applied. The controller 19 selects the gain k_(A) to use in thecompensator module 84 based at least in part on the vehicle's forwardspeed V_(F). The control system 82 continues to iteratively proceedthrough these aforementioned steps, redetermining the steering torqueT_(C) to apply and then applying it.

The characteristics of the closed loop control system 82 depend on thecompensator module 84. FIGS. 8a -8 f, 9 a-9 f and 10 a-10 f show testresults for the closed-loop characteristics for three differentcompensators. Each set of figures shows a root locus plot, a Bodediagram of the open loop characteristics, tracking closed loopcharacteristics and disturbance rejection loop characteristics. Therejection response to a step input is also included. The first set ofcharacteristics (FIGS. 8a-8f ) is shown where a 50 percent peakovershoot in the step response is permitted. The value of k_(A) isselected to be 3.3665×33, the value of z_(A) is selected to be 25 andthe value of p_(A) is selected to be 50. The second set ofcharacteristics (FIGS. 9a-9f ) is shown where a 30 percent peakovershoot in the step response is permitted. The value of k_(A) isselected to be 6.3184×33, the value of z_(A) is selected to be 10 andthe value of p_(A) is selected to be 50. The third set ofcharacteristics (FIGS. 10a-10f ) is shown where a 10 percent peakovershoot in the step response is permitted. The value of k_(A) isselected to be 15.9926×33, the value of z_(A) is selected to be 5 andthe value of p_(A) is selected to be 50.

It will be noted that the required torque to generate a desired yaw rateV_(S) decreases as vehicle speed increases. The steady state gain of thecontrol system 82 varies to keep the poles at roughly the samelocations, regardless of the vehicle speed.

The above programming is used to steer the vehicle 10 towards a targetpath 69 that corresponds generally to the centerline 70 of the lane 22,shown in FIG. 6 b. In certain situations however, the controller 19 maydetermine that the target path 69 is not along the theoreticalcenterline 70, and will instead steer the vehicle 10 towards a targetpath 69 that is based on one of the lane delimiters 24 a or 24 binstead. To determine what kind of target path will be selected, thecontroller 19 first determines values for a set of parameters 94 (FIG.11), represented by a set of variables 96 a-96 h. The variables include,for example, variables 96 a and 96 b, which represent the quality ofinformation available to the controller 19 from the images sent by thecamera 26 for each of the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. Based onselected criteria, the controller 19 will determine whether theinformation received from the lane delimiter detection device 13relating to each lane delimiter 24 a and 24 b meets a selected thresholdof quality (i.e. whether the controller 19 has received sufficientinformation from the lane delimiter detection device 13 (i.e. the camera26) to determine the positions of each of the lane delimiters 24 a and24 b). For lane delimiter 24 a, the controller 19 will store a value of‘good’ (if the quality of the information is sufficiently good), or ‘notgood’ (if the quality of the information is not sufficiently good) inthe right lane delimiter information quality variable shown at 96 a. Forlane delimiter 24 b, the controller 19 will store a value of ‘good’ (ifthe line quality is sufficiently good) or ‘not good’ (if the linequality is not sufficiently good) in the left lane information qualityvariable shown at 96 b. The controller 19 further determines the offsetfor each lane delimiter 24 a and 24 b from the vehicle 10 and stores theoffset distance to the right lane delimiter 24 b in a right lanedelimiter offset variable, and stores the offset distance to the leftlane delimiter 24 a in a left lane delimiter offset variable. Thecontroller 19 further determines the angles of the left and right lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b relative to the vehicle 10. If the left lanedelimiter 24 a is parallel to the vehicle 10, the controller 19 stores avalue of ‘straight’ in a left lane angle variable 96 c. If the left lanedelimiter 24 a is not parallel to the vehicle 10, the controller 19stores a value of ‘not straight’ in the left lane angle variable 96 c.The controller 19 performs a similar analysis for the right lanedelimiter 24 b and stores a value of ‘straight’ or ‘not straight’ in aright lane delimiter angle variable 96 d. The controller 19 furtherdetermines the amount of curvature of the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 band stores their values in units of 1/m in lane delimiter curvaturevariables respectively. The controller 19 determines the lane widthW_(L) based on the offset values stored in the left lane and right lanedelimiter offset variables. The controller 19 determines whether thelane width is within a selected range that is considered normal. If itis within the selected range, the controller 19 stores a value of‘proper’ in a lane width properness variable 96 h. The controller 19further determines whether the center of the vehicle 10 is offset to theleft of the center of the lane 22 or is offset to the right of thecenter of the lane 22 by storing values relating to how close thevehicle 10 is to the left and right lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b inleft close and right close variables, which are together identifiedunder variable 96 g.

The controller 19 further determines the difference in deflectionbetween the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b. The deflection of each lanedelimiter 24 is the lateral offset of the lane delimiter 24 at someselected distance ahead of the vehicle 10. In the exemplary embodimentdescribed herein the deflection is measure at a distance correspondingto 2 seconds of travel of the vehicle 10. The deflection may bedetermined by any suitable means. In the exemplary embodiment, it isdetermined by extrapolating the third order curve fit for the lanedelimiter markings detected by the camera 26, thus using lane delimiterposition, heading, curvature and curvature derivative. The controller 19determines if there is a difference in the deflections of the left andright lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b as a means of detecting off-ramps ona highway.

Referring to FIG. 11, a table is shown that applies a series of‘preliminary decisions’ based on the values of the parameters 94determined above. Ten different situations 120 (shown individually at120 a-120 j) are shown in the table in FIG. 11. It will be noted thatthe ten situations are not all mutually exclusive. For example, it ispossible that, a single set of parameters 94 could meet the conditionsshown in situation 120 h and situation 120 j. The controller 19 goesthrough the list of situations and determines which situations apply tothe values of the parameters 94. For each situation that applies, aparticular preliminary decision shown at 122 is outputted. The decisionsare shown individually at 122 a-122 j. The three possible target paths69 available to be selected are: a target path along the center of thelane 22, a target path that is an offset from the right lane delimiter24 b, or a target path that is an offset from the left lane delimiter 24a. It is possible that the parameters 94 could meet the conditions intwo or more situations 120 that would result in conflicting decisions122 as to which type of target path 69 to follow. As a hypotheticalexample, the controller 19 may determine that the left lane delimiterquality and the right lane delimiter quality are both good, that neitherthe left nor right lane delimiters are straight (i.e. parallel to thevehicle 10), that the lane width is proper and that the there is adifference in deflection in the lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b towardsthe left. Thus, the values of the parameters 94 match the values shownin situation 120 h, which would result in a preliminary decision 122 hto set a target path 69 along the centerline 70 of the lane 22. However,the values of the parameters 94 also match the values shown in situation120 j, which would result in a preliminary decision 122 j to set atarget path 69 that is an offset from the right lane delimiter 24 b.Once all the preliminary decisions 122 for the ten situations 120 arereceived, the controller 19 determines a final decision outcome based onthe outcomes of the preliminary decisions 122 a-122 j. For example, thecontroller 19 may perform a weighted average of the decisions todetermine the final decision. The value of the weighted average may be anumber that is between 0 and 1. A value of 0 indicates a very strongfinal decision outcome to follow the left lane delimiter 24 a. A valueof 1 indicates a very strong decision outcome to follow the right lanedelimiter 24 b. A value of 0.5 indicates a very strong decision tofollow the center of the lane 22. The controller 19 applies thresholdsto determine what final decision outcome to select. In the exemplaryembodiment, for a value of between 0.4 and 0.6 inclusive, the controller19 will follow the center of the lane. For a value less than 0.4, thecontroller 19 will follow the left lane delimiter 24 a. For a value ofmore than 0.6, the controller 19 will follow the right lane delimiter 24b.

The weighted average may be arrived at using a form of fuzzy logic foreach decision 122. For example, each variable 96 may have a ‘raw value’variable M associated with it, which is determined by the controller 19based on its analysis of the images from the camera 26. The raw valuevariable M is then used as input to a lookup table or a formula or thelike to determine the values of two further associated variables, M1 andM2. Thus, variable 96 a which relates to the quality of the left lanedelimiter 24 a, has a raw value variable Ma associated with it, and twofurther associated variables, Ma1 and Ma2 associated with it. Thevariables Ma1 relates to the ‘strength’ of the value stored in the rawvalue variable Ma. The variable Ma2 relates to the ‘weakness’ of thevalue stored in the raw value variable Ma. Thus Ma1 and Ma2 areinversely proportional. In this exemplary system, Ma1 and Ma2 togetheradd up to a total value of 1. A graph shown in FIG. 13 relates the valuecontained in the raw value variable Ma to the two variables Ma1 and Ma2.Thus, if the controller 19 determines that the left lane quality valueis 1.75, this is the value stored in the raw value variable Ma. Thisvalue is used to determine the values of Ma1 and Ma2. In this example,using the graph shown in FIG. 13 this would result in a value of Ma1 of0.75, and a value of 0.25 for Ma2, which means that the quality of theleft lane delimiter is more good than bad. The quality of the right lanedelimiter 24 b may be determined using a similar method, whereby the rawvalue variable is Mb, and the two associated variables are Mb1 and Mb2.

The variable 96 c, which relates to the ‘straightness’ of the left lanedelimiter 24 a, would have a raw value variable Mc associated with itand two further variables Mc1 and Mc2. The value of Mc may be the anglein degrees that the left lane delimiter 24 a is away from ‘straightahead’. The values of Mc1 and Mc2 are shown in the exemplary graph shownin FIG. 14. A similar graph to that shown in FIG. 14, would beapplicable for variables Md, Md1 and Md2 associated with right lane‘straightness’ variable 96 d.

The graph shown in FIG. 14 would also be applicable (albeit with changespossibly to the actual angles at which the curves change direction), tothe determination of the variables Me, Me1 and Me2, and Mf, Mf1 and Mf2,which relate to the curvature of the left lane delimiter 24 a and thecurvature of the right lane delimiter 24 b respectively. The graph shownin FIG. 13 would be applicable (albeit with changes to the measurementdenoted on the X-axis) to the determination of the variables Mg, Mg1 andMg2 relating to whether the vehicle is closer to one side of the lane orthe other. The graph shown in FIG. 14 would be applicable, (again withchanges to the particular measurement denoted on the X-axis) to thedetermination of the variables Mh, Mh1 and Mh2, relating to theproperness of the lane width. In other words, if the lane is near enoughto a certain width, it is deemed proper. If the measured lane width istoo small or too large, it is less proper.

Once the values of the variables Ma1, Ma2, Mb1, Mb2 . . . Mh1 and Mh2are determined, the appropriate values can be inserted into a formulaassociated with each decision to determine a value of a variableassociated with each decision. Thus, using this fuzzy logic, the firstdecision 122 a would not simply yield a value of ‘follow center of lane’if all the conditions are met. Instead, a formula would be applied todetermine a strength value Sa for the first decision 122 a. The formulais a simple multiplication of the values of each of the variablesinvolved in decision 1. For example, from the table shown in FIG. 11,the value of Sa would be Ma1×Mb1×Mc1×Md1×Mh1. The value of Sb, whichrelates to the second decision 122 b would be Ma2×Mb1. The value of Sc,which relates to the third decision 122 c would be Ma1×Mb2. The value ofSd, which relates to the fourth decision 122 d would beMa1×Mb1×Mc1×Md2×Mh1. The other formulas can be readily determined fromthe table in FIG. 11.

After the values of Sa . . . Sj are determined, the controller 19 canthen use them as inputs in an overall decision formula which determineswhich of the three possible decision outcomes to follow. The threepossible decision outcomes are: ‘hug the left lane delimiter’, ‘hug theright lane delimiter’, and ‘follow the center of the lane’ and arethemselves represented by variables LEFT, RIGHT and CENTER. Arepresentative value is assigned to each outcome variable. In thisexample, a value of 0 is assigned to the variable LEFT. A value of 1 isassigned to the variable RIGHT, and a value of 0.5 is assigned to thevariable CENTER. These three values can be equally spaced apart, asshown in this example, although they need not be. The values of Sa . . .Sj are then applied in a final weighted formula to determine a finaldecision value FDV as follows:

${F\; D\; V} = \frac{\begin{matrix}{\left( {{Sa} \times {CENTER}} \right) + \left( {{Sb} \times {RIGHT}} \right) +} \\{\left( {{Sc} \times {LEFT}} \right) + {\left( {{Sd} \times {LEFT}} \right)\mspace{14mu}\ldots} + \left( {{Sj} \times {RIGHT}} \right)}\end{matrix}}{\left( {{Sa} + {Sb} + {Sc} + {{Sd}\mspace{14mu}\ldots} + {Sj}} \right)}$

The value of FDV is then compared to the three outcome values todetermine a final decision. In this example, if FDV is between 0.4 and0.6 the final decision of the controller 19 is to follow the center ofthe lane. If FDV is less than 0.4, the final decision of the controller19 is to hug the left lane delimiter 24 a. If FDV is more than 0.6 thefinal decision of the controller 19 is to hug the right lane delimiter24 b. It will be understood that these ranges can be adjusted to weightthe decisions in any desired way.

FIGS. 12a-12i illustrate examples of some of the situations listed inthe table in FIG. 8. FIGS. 12a and 12b illustrate situations 120 a and120 h respectively, wherein the left and right lane delimiter qualitiesare good. In FIG. 12 a, both lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b are‘straight’ (i.e. parallel to the vehicle 10), corresponding to situation120 a. In FIG. 12 b, both lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b are ‘notstraight’ (i.e. not parallel to the vehicle 10), corresponding tosituation 120 h. In both these cases, the output decision 122 is to seta target path 69 that is along the centerline 70 of the lane 22. FIG.12c represents situation 120 b, wherein only the right lane delimiter 24b has good quality. In this situation, the output decision 122 is to seta target path 69 that is a selected offset from the right lane delimiter24 b. The selected offset may be any selected offset, such as, forexample, half of the measured lane width before to the controller 19determined that the left lane delimiter was not of sufficient quality.In situations where the controller 19 does not determine a measured lanewidth for more than some period of time (such as, for example, 30seconds), the controller 19 may use an offset that is half of a standardlane width (i.e. half of 3.6 m, which is 1.8 m). FIG. 12d representssituation 120 c, wherein only the left lane delimiter 24 a has goodquality. In this situation, the output decision 122 is to set a targetpath 69 that is a selected offset from the left lane delimiter 24 a. Theselected offset may be determined in similar fashion to the offsetdetermined above in relation to a good quality right lane delimiter 24 band a poor quality left lane delimiter 24 a. FIG. 12e representssituation 120 d, wherein both lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b have goodquality but the right lane delimiter 24 b is not parallel to the vehicle10. FIG. 12f represents situation 120 e, wherein both lane delimiters 24a and 24 b have good quality but the left lane delimiter 24 a is notparallel to the vehicle 10. FIG. 12g represents situation 120 f, whereinboth lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b have good quality but the lane widthis outside of the proper range, and the vehicle 10 is closer to the leftlane delimiter 24 a. FIG. 12h represents a situation not shown in FIG.11, but which could be an additional situation that is compared to theparameters 94. In FIG. 12h both lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b have goodquality but the lane width is outside of the proper range, and thevehicle 10 is generally centered between the left and right lanedelimiters 24 a and 24 b. FIG. 12i represents situation 120 g, whereinboth lane delimiters 24 a and 24 b have good quality but the lane widthis outside of the proper range, and the vehicle 10 is closer to theright lane delimiter 24 b.

The controller 19 continues to repeat the cycle of determining theparameters 94 and determining a final output decision as to what type oftarget path 69 to pursue (e.g. along the centerline 70 of the lane, oralong a path that is offset from one of the lane delimiters 24 a or 24b) as the vehicle 10 drives.

The lane centering system 68 may be activated via any suitable means,such as by a dashboard mounted ‘on’ button (not shown). The lanecentering system 68 may be deactivated by the controller 19 upon anumber of events. For example, if the driver 20 actuates the turn signal61 for the vehicle 10, or if the driver 20 actuates the brakes 14, or ifthe controller 19 receives an indication from, for example, a controllerfor an adaptive cruise control system, that there is another vehiclewithin a selected distance in front of the vehicle 10, or if the driverapplies a steering torque that is beyond a selected threshold torque,then the lane centering system 68 may be deactivated by the controller19. Also, if the controller 19 receives an indication of an impendingcollision from a safety system in the vehicle 10 then the controller 19may be programmed to deactivate the lane centering system 68.Deactivation of the lane centering system 68 as a result of any of theseaforementioned events may be temporary in some instances (e.g. for aselected number of seconds), or may be permanent in some cases, suchthat the driver 20 is obligated to press the dashboard mounted buttonagain in order to reactivate the system 68. Of course, the driver 20 maydeactivate the system 68 by pressing an ‘off’ button for the system 68.

The system and controller of the present invention may utilize aspectsof the vision systems and lane departure systems and/or lane change aidsand/or side object detection systems of the types described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,914,187; 7,720,580; 7,526,103; 7,038,577; 7,004,606; 6,946,978;6,882,287 and/or 6,396,397, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

The imaging sensor or camera that captures the image data for imageprocessing may comprise any suitable camera or sensing device, such as,for example, an array of a plurality of photosensor elements arranged in640 columns and 480 rows (a 640×480 imaging array), with a respectivelens focusing images onto respective portions of the array. Thephotosensor array may comprise a plurality of photosensor elementsarranged in a photosensor array having rows and columns. The camera orimaging sensor and/or the logic and control circuit of the imagingsensor may function in any known manner, such as by utilizing aspects ofthe vision or imaging systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,806,452;6,690,268; 7,005,974; 7,123,168; 7,004,606; 6,946,978; 7,038,577;6,353,392; 6,320,176; 6,313,454; 6,824,281; 5,550,677; 5,877,897;6,498,620; 5,670,935; 5,796,094 and/or 6,396,397, and/or PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2010/028621, filed Mar. 25, 2010, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The imaging device and control and image processor and any associatedillumination source, if applicable, may comprise any suitablecomponents, and may utilize aspects of the cameras and vision systemsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,877,897; 6,498,620; 5,670,935;5,796,094; 6,396,397; 6,806,452; 6,690,268; 7,005,974; 7,123,168;7,004,606; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 6,353,392; 6,320,176; 6,313,454 and6,824,281, and/or International Publication No. WO 2010/099416,published Sep. 2, 2010, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/47256, filedAug. 31, 2010, and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/508,840, filedJul. 24, 2009, and published Jan. 28, 2010 as U.S. Pat. Publication No.US 2010-0020170, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. The camera or cameras may comprise any suitablecameras or imaging sensors or camera modules, and may utilize aspects ofthe cameras or sensors described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/091,359, filed Apr. 24, 2008 and published Oct. 1, 2009 as U.S.Publication No. US-2009-0244361, and/or U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,965,336 and/or7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties. The imaging array sensor may comprise any suitable sensor,and may utilize various imaging sensors or imaging array sensors orcameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensoror other sensors or the like, such as the types described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,965,336; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093; 5,877,897;6,922,292; 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,201,642; 6,498,620;5,796,094; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 6,806,452;6,396,397; 6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,339,149; 7,038,577; 7,004,606 and/or7,720,580, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2008/076022, filed Sep. 11,2008 and published Mar. 19, 2009 as International Publication No.WO/2009/036176, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US2008/078700, filed Oct.3, 2008 and published Apr. 9, 2009 as International Publication No.WO/2009/046268, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

The camera module and circuit chip or board and imaging sensor may beimplemented and operated in connection with various vehicularvision-based systems, and/or may be operable utilizing the principles ofsuch other vehicular systems, such as a vehicle headlamp control system,such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094; 6,097,023;6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 7,004,606; 7,339,149 and/or 7,526,103,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a rain sensor, such as the types disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392; 6,313,454; 6,320,176; and/or7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a vehicle vision system, such as a forwardly, sidewardly orrearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,949,331;6,222,447; 6,302,545; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202;6,201,642; 6,690,268; 6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452;6,822,563; 6,891,563; 6,946,978 and/or 7,859,565, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a trailer hitchingaid or tow check system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, a reverse or sideward imaging system, such as for a lanechange assistance system or lane departure warning system or for a blindspot or object detection system, such as imaging or detection systems ofthe types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577;5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a video device for internal cabinsurveillance and/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 6,690,268; and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 andpublished Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, atraffic sign recognition system, a system for determining a distance toa leading or trailing vehicle or object, such as a system utilizing theprinciples disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,396,397 and/or 7,123,168, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/orthe like.

Optionally, the circuit board or chip may include circuitry for theimaging array sensor and or other electronic accessories or features,such as by utilizing compass-on-a-chip or EC driver-on-a-chip technologyand aspects such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,451 and/or U.S.Pat. No. 7,480,149; and/or U.S. patent applications, Ser. No.11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and published Mar. 23, 2006 as U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0061008, and/or Ser. No. 12/578,732, filed Oct.14, 2009 and published Apr. 22, 2010 as U.S. Publication No.US-2010-0097469, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Optionally, the vision system may include a display for displayingimages captured by one or more of the imaging sensors for viewing by thedriver of the vehicle while the driver is normally operating thevehicle. Optionally, for example, the vision system may include a videodisplay device disposed at or in the interior rearview mirror assemblyof the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirror displaysystems described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268; 7,370,983; 7,329,013;7,308,341; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 4,546,551; 5,699,044;4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226;5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; 6,513,252;5,530,240; 6,329,925; 7,855,755; 7,626,749; 7,581,859; 7,446,650;7,446,924; 7,370,983; 7,338,177; 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381;7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187; 7,338,177; 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and/or6,642,851, and/or European patent application, published Oct. 11, 2000under Publication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/US2011/056295, filed Oct. 14, 2011 and published Apr. 19, 2012 asInternational Publication No. WO 2012/051500, and/or U.S. patentapplications, Ser. No. 11/226,628, filed Sep. 14, 2005 and publishedMar. 23, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008; and/or Ser. No.10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 and published Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, and/or U.S. provisional applications,Ser. No. 61/466,138, filed Mar. 22, 2011; Ser. No. 61/452,816, filedMar. 15, 2011; and Ser. No. 61/426,328, filed Dec. 22, 2010, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally,the vision system (utilizing the rearward facing camera and othercameras disposed at the vehicle with exterior fields of view) mayprovide a display of a top-down view or birds-eye view of the vehicle ora surround view at the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of thevision systems described in PCT Application No. PCT/US10/25545, filedFeb. 26, 2010 and published Sep. 2, 2010 as International PublicationNo. WO 2010/099416, and/or PCT Application No. PCT/US10/47256, filedAug. 31, 2010 and published Mar. 10, 2011 as International PublicationNo. WO 2011/028686, and/or U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No.61/540,256, filed Sep. 28, 2011; Ser. No. 61/466,138, filed Mar. 22,2011; Ser. No. 61/452,816, filed Mar. 15, 2011; and Ser. No. 61/426,328,filed Dec. 22, 2010, which are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

Optionally, the display or displays and any associated user inputs maybe associated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example,a tire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or agarage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessoryor system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessorymodule or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or consoleof the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888;6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742 and 6,124,886, and/or U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/538,724, filed Jun. 13, 2005 andpublished Mar. 9, 2006 as U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0050018, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

While the above description constitutes a plurality of embodiments ofthe present invention, it will be appreciated that the present inventionis susceptible to further modification and change without departing fromthe fair meaning of the accompanying claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A lane centering system for use in avehicle driving in a lane on a road, the lane centering systemcomprising: a lane delimiter detection device; the lane delimiterdetection device comprising a camera disposed behind a windshield of thevehicle and having a field of view through the windshield and forward ofthe vehicle that encompasses the road ahead of the vehicle and beingtravelled on by the vehicle; the camera capturing image data; acontroller; the controller comprising a processor that algorithmicallyprocesses captured image data to detect lane delimiters on the roadahead of the vehicle; wherein, based on processing of captured imagedata by the processor, the controller determines the position of a leftlane delimiter on the road on a left side of the vehicle and theposition of a right lane delimiter on the road on a right side of thevehicle; the controller operable to control a steering system that isconfigured to steer the vehicle; wherein the controller is operable toestablish a target path for the vehicle based on processing of capturedimage data by the processor; wherein the target path maintains thelongitudinal centerline of the vehicle generally centered between theleft lane delimiter and the right lane delimiter; the controllerreceiving an input indicative of the speed of the vehicle; wherein thecontroller is automatically activated to control steering the vehiclealong the target path when the speed of the vehicle is at or above afirst speed level; wherein, when having activated control of steering,the controller automatically deactivates control of steering when thespeed of the vehicle falls to at or below a second speed level; andwherein the second speed level is smaller than the first speed level. 2.A lane centering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller,responsive to processing by the processor of captured image data, isoperable to detect Bott's dots on the road ahead of the vehicle.
 3. Alane centering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller,responsive to processing by the processor of captured image data,detects colored lane markings on the road ahead of the vehicle.
 4. Alane centering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controllerestablishes the target path based in part on whether the distancebetween the lane delimiters is outside of a selected range.
 5. A lanecentering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller modelsdetected lane delimiters as third order polynomial equations.
 6. A lanecentering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein when one of the leftlane delimiter and the right lane delimiter ends while the other of theleft lane delimiter and the right lane delimiter does not end, the lanecentering system remains operational for up to 3 seconds.
 7. A lanecentering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane centeringsystem remains operational for up to 3 seconds when driving past anoff-ramp on the road being travelled.
 8. A lane centering system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the lane centering system is disabled when adriver of the vehicle applies the brakes of the vehicle.
 9. A lanecentering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane centeringsystem is disabled when a braking event of a collision mitigation systemof the vehicle is taking place.
 10. A lane centering system as claimedin claim 1, wherein the lane centering system is disabled when a driverassistance system of the vehicle that determines a collision may occurhas been triggered in order to permit maneuvering of the vehicle toavoid a collision without interference from the lane centering system.11. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the driverassistance system of the vehicle comprises an adaptive cruise controlsystem.
 12. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecontroller is operable to establish a safe zone having a left safe zonedelimiter based on the determined position of the left lane delimiterand a right safe zone delimiter based on the determined position of theright lane delimiter.
 13. A lane centering system as claimed in claim12, wherein the controller is operable to progressively reduce the widthof the safe zone the longer that the vehicle remains within the safezone.
 14. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecamera comprises a component of a driver assistance system of thevehicle, the driver assistance system comprising an adaptive cruisecontrol system.
 15. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the steering system includes a steering column, and a torque issupplied to the steering column based on processing of captured imagedata by the processor.
 16. A lane centering system for use in a vehicledriving in a lane on a road, the lane centering system comprising: alane delimiter detection device; the lane delimiter detection devicecomprising a camera disposed behind a windshield of the vehicle andhaving a field of view through the windshield and forward of the vehiclethat encompasses the road ahead of the vehicle and being travelled on bythe vehicle; the camera capturing image data; a controller; thecontroller comprising a processor that algorithmically processescaptured image data to detect lane delimiters on the road ahead of thevehicle; wherein, based on processing of captured image data by theprocessor, the controller determines the position of a left lanedelimiter on the road on a left side of the vehicle and the position ofa right lane delimiter on the road on a right side of the vehicle; thecontroller operable to control a steering system that is configured tosteer the vehicle; wherein the controller is operable to establish atarget path for the vehicle based on processing of captured image databy the processor; wherein the target path maintains the longitudinalcenterline of the vehicle generally centered between the left lanedelimiter and the right lane delimiter; wherein the controller,responsive to processing by the processor of captured image data, isoperable to detect Bott's dots on the road ahead of the vehicle; andwherein when one of the left lane delimiter and the right lane delimiterends while the other of the left lane delimiter and the right lanedelimiter does not end, the lane centering system remains operationalfor up to 3 seconds.
 17. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 16,wherein the lane centering system is disabled when a driver of thevehicle applies the brakes of the vehicle.
 18. A lane centering systemas claimed in claim 16, wherein the lane centering system is disabledwhen a braking event of a collision mitigation system of the vehicle istaking place.
 19. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 16,wherein the vehicle is equipped with an adaptive cruise control system,and wherein the lane centering system is disabled when a forwardcollision warning signal has been triggered in order to permitmaneuvering of the vehicle to avoid a collision without interferencefrom the lane centering system.
 20. A lane centering system as claimedin claim 16, wherein the controller models detected lane delimiters asthird order polynomial equations.
 21. A lane centering system for use ina vehicle driving in a lane on a road, the lane centering systemcomprising: a lane delimiter detection device; the lane delimiterdetection device comprising a camera disposed behind a windshield of thevehicle and having a field of view through the windshield and forward ofthe vehicle that encompasses the road ahead of the vehicle and beingtravelled on by the vehicle; the camera capturing image data; acontroller; the controller comprising a processor that algorithmicallyprocesses captured image data to detect lane delimiters on the roadahead of the vehicle; wherein, based on processing of captured imagedata by the processor, the controller determines the position of a leftlane delimiter on the road on a left side of the vehicle and theposition of a right lane delimiter on the road on a right side of thevehicle; the controller operable to control a steering system that isconfigured to steer the vehicle; wherein the controller is operable toestablish a target path for the vehicle based on processing of capturedimage data by the processor; wherein the target path maintains thelongitudinal centerline of the vehicle generally centered between theleft lane delimiter and the right lane delimiter; the controllerreceiving an input indicative of the speed of the vehicle; wherein thecontroller is automatically activated to control steering the vehiclealong the target path when the speed of the vehicle is at or above afirst speed level; and wherein the lane centering system is disabledwhen a driver assistance system of the vehicle that determines acollision may occur has been triggered in order to permit maneuvering ofthe vehicle to avoid a collision without interference from the lanecentering system.
 22. A lane centering system as claimed in claim 21,wherein the camera comprises a component of a driver assistance systemof the vehicle, the driver assistance system comprising an adaptivecruise control system.
 23. A lane centering system as claimed in claim22, wherein, when having activated control of steering, the controllerautomatically deactivates control of steering when the speed of thevehicle falls to at or below a second speed level and wherein the secondspeed level is smaller than the first speed level.
 24. A lane centeringsystem as claimed in claim 22, wherein the controller, responsive toprocessing by the processor of captured image data, is operable todetect Bott's dots on the road ahead of the vehicle.
 25. A lanecentering system as claimed in claim 21, wherein maneuvering of thevehicle to avoid a collision comprises maneuvering of the vehicle by thedriver of the vehicle.
 26. A lane centering system as claimed in claim21, wherein the lane centering system is disabled when a braking eventof a collision mitigation system of the vehicle is taking place.
 27. Alane centering system as claimed in claim 26, wherein the controllermodels detected lane delimiters as third order polynomial equations.